DRC: Government bans December 31 protest in Kinshasa /update 1

Event

On Saturday, December 30, the governor of Kinshasa announced that the government will not approve the march planned by Catholics in the city for Sunday, December 31. According to Governor Andre Kimbuta, there are not enough police officers to provide security for the demonstration and the organizers did not provide necessary information about the march route. As of Saturday, it is unclear if protest will go on despite the ban. Numerous opposition and civil society groups were also planning on participating in the demonstration. If the protest does take place, expect an increased security presence in the city; violence between demonstrators and security forces cannot be ruled out.

Context

December 31 marks the one year anniversary of the 2016 political agreement, under which elections were supposed to take place in 2017. The DRC is experiencing a political crisis that stems from President Kabila's refusal to step down after his term expired in December 2016. Under a deal struck between the government and the opposition, long-awaited presidential, legislative, regional, and local elections were supposed to take place before the end of 2017.

However, on November 5, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) announced that elections would be set to take place one year after this deadline, on December 23, 2018. The opposition coalition has denounced the timeframe, insisting that Kabila leave office by the end of 2017 and demanding a transitional administration be put in place immediately and presidential elections be held in January 2018.

Advice

Individuals present in the DRC are advised to monitor the situation, maintain a high degree of situational awareness, and avoid all rallies and demonstrations due to the risk of violence.